Despite Goldies, Bs&t Isn`t Just For The Oldies

October 25, 1986|By Jack Lloyd, Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

ATLANTIC CITY — ``If the people came to Atlantic City expecting an oldies show, they were in for a big surprise,`` said David Clayton-Thomas, vocalist with Blood, Sweat and Tears. ``This isn`t just a bunch of lounge lizards cloning the music that was big 15, 16 years ago.``

BS&T does, of course, continue to perform those oldies--songs such as

``You`ve Made Me So Very Happy,`` ``And When I Die,`` ``God Bless the Child`` and ``Spinning Wheel.``

``Well, sure, you have to do them,`` said Clayton-Thomas, who performed last weekend at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. ``How can you get tired of singing a song like `God Bless the Child`? It`s just such a great song. But we have plenty of new material, too. I think down through the years our fans have always expected more from BS&T. I think they`ve expected freshness and creativity from BS&T.``

Actually, Clayton-Thomas, 45, is the only remaining member of the band that recorded those hits back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But, he emphasized, BS&T has always had a kind of revolving-door policy when it has come to members. In fact, the first BS&T album, which was not a commercial success, featured Al Kooper on vocals, not Clayton-Thomas.

``Traditionally, the band has been an outlet for great musicians who weren`t always having fun,`` said Clayton-Thomas. ``You can have studio musicians who make a lot of money, but it`s not always satisfying. OK, so one day you`re in the studio with Herbie Hancock, which is wonderful, but then the next day you`re working on a Tidy Bowl commercial. So over the years at least 100 of the top musicians around have spent time with BS&T.``

Even Clayton-Thomas, whose blues-rooted voice has always been the most identifiable element in the group`s music, left the BS&T ranks in the early 1970s. Now, he says it was never intended to be a permanent split. ``I guess there`s been a dozen times over the last 15 years when I haven`t toured with BS&T. And, of course, each time it was reported that I had quit the band.``

While BS&T eventually fizzled as a recording force, the group continued to tour off and on until the early 1980s, when Clayton-Thomas became involved in other activities, including the production of commercials in New York. Then about 18 months ago, it was decided to roll out BS&T one more time.

``But instead of getting a batch of material together and going into the studio, we decided to take the band on the road and whip everything into shape that way,`` Clayton-Thomas said. ``We`ve been touring steadily since then and right now we have a well-oiled machine. We should be going into the studio around Christmas to record the new album.

``The important thing at this point is to find the right producer, someone who can relate to what we`re trying to do musically. We also want to record in New York. This is a New York band with a lot of elements that come right from the streets. It would be hard to generate that out in Hollywood, for instance.``